Elevated railways and traction means therefor



Jan. 25, 1955 w. c. cox 2,700,345

ELEVATED RAILWAYS AND TRACTION MEANS THEREFOR Filed July 6, 1953 INVENTOR.

aa/fer c: -C02 United States Patent This invention relates to improvements in traction devices for railroads and has reference "more particularly to an elevated railway intendbdfor use on very steep grades but which can also be readily adapted-for use in connection with the so called scenic railwaysin amusement parks and for high speed transportation.

It is the object of this invention to produce a traction device that can be so constructed that it can be successfully employed on very steep grades and which therefore adapts it for use in mountainous countries in connection with mines. By a simple modification the device can be slightly modified for very high speed transportation along tracks of low grades.

Another object is to produce an improved traction system of great versatility that makes it practicable to build and operate railways in undeveloped regions where the cost of building and operating the ordinary type of railway would be prohibitive.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as the description proceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail for which purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing where the invention has been illustrated and in which Figure 1 is a transverse section through a railway carrisge and a railway track taken on line 1-1, Figure Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 2-2, Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 33, Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged section similar to Figure 3.

In the drawing reference numeral 10 designates the structure which supports the track assembly that will presently be described. Where the railroad is intended for light use the supporting structure may consist of wooden posts, as shown, or of metal posts of suitable strength and design. In the following description the construction illustrated will be considered.

Supported on a row of spaced posts 10 is a track structure that is preferably built from steel plates as shown. A plate 11 of the desired width, rests on the tops of the posts as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and is attached to the posts by angle iron brackets 12 that may extend around all four sides of the post or on opposite sides only. Braces 13 are provided at each post, as shown in Figure 1.

Although the bottom plate 11 has been shown extending the entire length of the track this is not necessary because it adds very little to the vertical strength of the tracks but it does add greatly to the lateral strength. It is contemplated, however, to terminate plate 11 along dotted lines 14, on each side of the posts and to substitute diagonal braces between the posts. Attached to the upper edges of side wall plates 15 are shallow channels 16 that are secured to plates 15 by angle iron brackets 17 and reenforced at spaced intervals by brackets 18. Channels 16 extend inwardly as shown in Figure 1 leaving a slot or narrow space 19 through which thetraction device, which will presently be explained, extends.

The car has been represented by portions only of the frame, two pair of wheels with their axles and by the traction apparatus and these parts will now be described.

The car frame has been represented by side frame members 20 and vertical members 21. The supporting wheels have been represented by two pair and have been designated by 22 and 22a. Each pair is connected ice by an axle 23. Aneiectrie motor 24 is-supported 0111121 shelf .25 that 'is suspended from the side frame members 20 to the rear of the front pair of wheels; Although an electric motor has been shown it is: to be understood that any suitableprirne mover may besubstituted such as an internal combustion engine. Since this railiway has been designed for extremely narrow gage: and for use in rough terrain-great precaution has been taken to -as: sure that the 'car cannot tip over or become derailed. The propulsion apparatus will now be described;

-A rather massive casting. 26 is suspended. from the front axle 23 and: has its upper. end separated into" two spaced parts 27 and 28 having axially alignedr'openings 29 that receive the ends of the tubular shaft or'rsleeve 30' as shownmost clearly inFigure -4. Parts-.27 andl28 are each provided on their outer surfaces with a cylindrical annular wall: 3=1v in which are posit-ionedmadial and thrust bearingsv 32 that hold axle 23 in concentric-spaced relation in sleeve 30. Collars 33 hold the assembly frommovem'ent along th'ershaft. Positioned in theispace between parts 27 and 28 is an assembly comprising two sprocket wheels 34 and 35 that are interconnected for simultaneous rotation and journaled on sleeve 30 by means of suitable anti-friction bearings 36. A sprocket chain 37 serves to transmit rotation from the motor directly to sprocket wheel 35 which drives sprocket wheel 34.

The lower end of casting 26 is similarly split into two parts 38 and 39 that serve as bearings for shaft 40. A sprocket wheel 41 is mounted on shaft 40 in the space between parts 38 and 39 and is connected with sprocket wheel 34 by a sprocket chain 42. The motor can now rotate shaft 40 since sprocket wheel 41 is keyed to shaft 40. Non-rotatably attached to the outer ends of shaft 40 are drive wheels 43 which are shown most clearly in Figure 1. In the drawing Wheels 43 have been shown as gear or sprocket wheels but in some cases are pneumatically tired wheels. As illustrated wheels 43 engage a toothed rack 44 which may be either a conventional gear, a toothed rack or a sprocket chain. Where a sprocket chain is employed for a rack it preferably rests on a rubber cushion 45. The sprocket chain or rack 1s, of course, securely anchored at spaced intervals which anchors have been indicated by reference numeral 46 1n Figure 1. Wheels 22 are provided with heavy pneumatlc tires 47 and the parts are so proportioned that when tires 47 are inflated, drive wheels 43 will be forced upwardly against the under surface of channels 16 and when the construction shown in the drawing is used the sprocket chain or rack will compress the rubber cushion 45 thus assuring that the cogs will not slip. Where high speed is des red instead of great tractive effort wheels 43 are provided with pneumatic tires and the rack or sprocket chain and the rubber cushion may both be dispensed with.

Attention is' directed at this point to the fact that the parts are so arranged that the vertical distance between axle 23 and shaft 40 is fixed and that a line joining axle 23 with shaft 40 is perpendicular to a plane tangent to the bottom of wheels 22. This arrangement makes it possible for the car to travel over rails whose upper surfaces are either convex or concave in the direction of their length. By securing the traction mechanism d1rectly below an axle the car can go around curves WhlCh 1t could not do if it was positioned between the two pair of wheels.

In Figure 2 a trolley 48 has been shown for use where electric drive is employed.

The construction above described makes it possible to build at a moderate cost a railway suitable for mines and by a slight change for a scenic railroad for amusement parks or a very high speed railroad for limited passenger and an express service.

Aside from the changes above mentioned other variations may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. An elevated railway and propelling device comprising; a track having two wide coplanar track members v 3 spaced apart to form a slot, means supporting said track members comprising, longitudinally extending girders contacting their under sides some distance from their adjacent edges leaving a clear traction zone for cooperative engagement 'With' traction wheels, a wheel mounted car whose wheels rest on the upper surface of the track members, at least one pair of said wheels being connected by an axle, a traction arm suspended from the axle and passing through the slot, a shaft mounted in the lower end of the traction arm for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of the axle, traction wheels non-rotatably connected to the ends of said shaft for engagement with said traction zones, means for urging the traction wheels against the under surface of the track members, comprising said traction arm and pneumatic tires on the car supporting wheels, 21 motor carried by the car, and means for transmitting rotary movement from the motor to the traction wheels.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the under surfaces of the track members are provided with a gear rack and in which the traction wheels are providid with teeth for cooperative engagement with the rac s.

3. A device in accordance with claim 2 in which the gear racks are spaced from the under surfaces of the track members by resilient cushions.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the traction arm has its upper and its lower ends formed with two spaced branches, the two top branches having aligned openings, a sleeve positioned in the openings, the inside diameter of the sleeve being larger than the diameter of the axle, means comprising anti-friction bearings for rotatably supporting the axle in the traction arm, two sprocket Wheels journaled on the sleeve between the branches, a shaft journaled in the branches at the lower end of the traction arm, a sprocket wheel non-rotatably attached to the shaft in the space between the lower branches and a sprocket chain operatively connecting the last named sprocket wheel with one of the sprocket wheels between the upper branch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

